Day's End
by AcidicArachnid
Summary: What would happen if the Trollhunters didn't defeat Gunmar the Black and Morgana?What if they couldn't prevent the Eternal Night? What if something went wrong for our beloved Trollhunter? Read to find out if our heroes can find another way to get out of this mess and save Arcadia, with the lives of themselves and their loved-ones in-tack! - Eternal Night AU
1. Chapter 1

Hello Hello Hello! I am not new to the site, but this is my first ever story! Any feedback would be greatly appreciated and I dont know how often I'll update this, I'm going to try to update weekly, but that might change to every two weeks depending if stuff piles up! (I'm sure you understand the struggle!)

This chapter is kind of a prologue, it focuses mostly on what canonically happened in the final episode, as that's where this story picks up, but get ready for a darker AU!

Anyway, without any further interruptions, I give you _'Day's End'!_

* * *

"You are weak assassin" A low rumble came from Gunmar, as he relentlessly tossed Angor aside like he was nothing more than a rag doll.

Jim felt fear prickle up his spine. Yeah sure, he had been in the presence of Gunmar before, but all the same he still couldn't fathom the fact that the malicious tyrant had strayed so far from morality that he would turn on his own allies, in a battle no less. He was dangerous, that was for sure. So very, unthinkably dangerous.

Snapping himself from his own thoughts, Jim had seized the distraction that was Angor Rot and proceeded to throw himself into the hulking brute. Gunmar was thrown backwards and ploughed into the bandstand, a cascade of banners falling onto him.

_Strike!_ thought Jim.

But his small victory was shortly lived as the huge black mass erupted from the tattered remains of the bandstand.

A resentful growl bubbled from Gunmar's throat followed by an ungodly roar filled with so much un-diluted rage it could put a lion to shame. The brute took charge, blinded by raw anger.

Jim felt his heart sink, he knew what was coming and there was no time to evade the attack. His shoulders rose and his body tensed. Enormous black claws seized him and he felt himself soar- before slamming into the concrete wall of the town hall.

A mighty crash exploded through the war-torn town of Arcadia, followed by an eerie silence.

Jim groaned in heavy discomfort.

Darkness threatened Jim's vision as he winced in pain. He could feel anguish throughout his body like red hot fire.

Jim felt the rubble beneath him begin to crumble as he stirred.

_No, I'm not done yet_. He assured himself as he heaved himself up on to the roof. His body protested, his aching bones screaming in agony. He had to keep going, innocent people were going to die, - _for Arcadia._

Jim's legs threatened to buckle there and then, if it wasn't for the adrenaline and determination swarming through his veins, he was sure he'd pass out from exhaustion.

An deafening silence followed, t_he calm before the storm_\- he thought. A flock of birds had begun to swarm in the murky sky above his head. The sky. He gazed over to the spout of black clouds that flooded from Trollmarket, rising up and staining the stratosphere. Marks of dangerous reds and deep blacks twisted in the spiralling tower of clouds. They churned around and around, spreading a horrific darkness across all of Arcadia. Most noticeably the sky was stained a thick, oozing red.

The sight made Jim's stomach flip. _If ever there was a hell on earth _\- he thought - _this is it._

A fitting setting, Jim felt as if he was fighting the devil himself. Gunmar couldn't be that far off.

Jim's sharp ears could hear the countdown of the clock tower that resided on the roof next to him. Tick. Tick .Tick.

Suddenly, Inevitably Gunmar the black launched from behind him, swiftly striking Jim down. Jim's horns knocked on the ceramic tiling, he tightened his gritty hands into fists and forced his protesting form up.

He felt himself sway a little.

God, his head _pounds_. It hurts so much, but he had to keep going. Once again, darkness threatened to invade his vision,but the stone boy forced it back.

Once the ringing in his ears had faded, Jim reaches a four-fingered hand for Eclipse, and surely enough, the blade materialised into the battle.

Gunmar had pulled out his own blade, the formidable _Decimar blade_, and brutally slashed down eclipse twice, once landing a strike on Jim's face.

Jim winced as blood trickled down his stony skin. I_t's only a nick_ \- he told himself - _keep going._

Gunmar raised a deadly fist up above his head, and sent it plummeting down, landing a heavy blow across Jim's side.

Jim could feel the air knocked out of his lungs as he once again soared above the ground, ricocheting twice as he landed heavily on the chalky tiles. He could feel the grazes stinging his skin, metal armour drags across the tiles.

Then sharp, shrill noise brought Jim's attention back to the battlefield. A painfully slow scraping noise filled the thick air. Jim could tell that Gunmar savoured every ounce of fear in the Trollhunter's expression, dragging the keen edge of the Decimar blade across the rooftop. Jim could've sworn he had seen sparks fly from the force of Gunmar's unforgiving fist.

"You wear a trolls armour, now you wear our inside you will bleed _red!_" His gruff voice boomed. "The age of man-" Gunmar raised the tip of his blade to meet the Trollhunter's temple, "Has _ended!_".

A dangerous yellow magic spilled from the brute's cyclops eye, and a matching aurora swam the distance between the Decimar blade and Jim's face.

Jim could see the blade tilt dangerously close towards his face, panic begun to build in his chest as he desperately struggled against the powerful magic. He felt so unbelievably powerless, but that was nothing compared to what was yet to come.

Gunmar's deep voice bellowed again, "You will be my first human slave!".

Jim fought with tooth and claw. He thrashed wildly under the daunting magic, throwing steel fists cataclysmically. He jerked in pain as the blade's power seeped into him, squirming and writhing under it's influence.

Jim's desperate cries hitched in his throat. The air around him became thicker, fuller with magic, until he felt like he was drinking in tar. He could feel himself slipping away. The golden streams in the air did not cease to flow into him, drawing out his very soul.

Thoughts of Claire flashed through his mind, his Mom too. Toby, Aaarrrgghh, Blinky…and Draal. His friends. They had given so much for him, for Arcadia. This was the last stretch and he was… losing.

He had dedicated everything he had to Trollhunting, to protecting them. Protecting everyone. He had given his time, every ounce of dedication, he had even sacrificed his humanity for this. He knew he could never go to collage, he would never have a real job. He couldn't go into the sunlight, or eat his favourite food. How could he even cook now? He had everything striped from him, and… he was losing.

He was slipping away, falling through the cracks, he could feel it.

_Some Trollhunter I turned out to be. Jim thought bitterly._

He was wrenched from his thoughts as the pain of the decimar blade tore a horrific scream from his throat.

He could see Gunmar's beastly form loom above him, he was grinning manically, triumphantly.

A pair of glazed cerulean eyes met a singular, burning gold one.

_Great_ \- thought Jim- T_he last thing I'll ever see is his ugly mug._

Hot pain continued to sear through him, dragging another anguished yell from the Trollhunter.

He knew his struggle was futile, but he couldn't give up now. _He couldn't_. There had to be something- _anything._

As if on cue, the words danced through his mind. _At their darkest hour, I burn brightest._

Summoning all his strength, Jim spoke the incantation. He felt the pressure of the Decimar blade between words, like being submerged in thousands of gallons of boiling water, the pressure drilling his skull.

"In their darkest hour-" He began, not stuttering through the pain. Gunmar blinked, taken aback, but he did not waver. "I burn-" Jim growled out, but began to feel himself fade, as if the words had died in this throat. "..I- I burn.." he clenched his jaw, _feeling dizzy…_ "…burn…" he rasped, what was he saying?

Sense begun to drain from him. He could see that Gunmar's concerns had vanished, a new wave of confidence spread across his features like a plauge.

"You are weak, Trollhunter" He sneered, and snorted thick mist through his nostrils in a bull like fashion "Now YEILD!" His voice thundered. The echo barraged throughout Arcadia Oaks, drawing out fear and panic.

Jim felt so small, so…. empty. He didn't know where he was. _What was he saying again?_

A voice interrupted his non-sensical daze, cutting clear and crisp into his foggy mind.

"Jim!". It was a voice so familiar, so concerned, so…

_Claire_.

With his last ounce of strength, he forced out the words.

_"I. burn. brightest.."_

And with that, the darkness consumed him.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N** Hello again! I was hoping to make this chapter a bit longer, and I had two more scenes planned but I got cut short of time, so I'll try to make next weeks chapter a longer one to make up for it!

* * *

There was no fairness in the sky that night. It loomed above Claire's head like a bad omen, something had gone _wrong_, she could sense it.

She could see the dark clouds, ferocious and angry, as if the deceased trolls that made the ashy sky were still alive and unrested. Unnatural strokes of red lightning occasionally threatened to burst from within the charcoal sky, sparking and fizzing demonically. There was something truly hellish about the Eternal Night,- _I mean, it's kind of implied that it's not all sunshine and rainbows_, Claire thought, _but yeesh._

A desperate noise yanked Claire out of her thoughts, and she whipped her head towards the Museum's rooftop. _Was that?…-_

Reality hit her like a bucket of cold water, cruel and icy.

Sure enough, over-hanging on the roof's ledge and at the receiving end of a blade was _Jim_.

"Jim!" She called out, suddenly snapped out of her state of shock.

He didn't look good.

Well, that was the understatement of the century. He looked absolutely undone. Claire could see his form writhe despairingly under the razor's edge.

Amidst the chaos Claire barely noticed Toby, breathlessly running to her side, his coppery armour clanking all the while.

Seeing him like this… it _hurt_ her. No, it pierced into her, ripping her apart at the seams. A wave of emotions hit felt sick, then hopelessness. Then anger.

A red blast suddenly rippled from the eclipse armour, searing outwards and sending Gunmar, and the Decimar Blade propelling backwards with the force of a battering ram. Then she watched the impossible happen.

She watched the Decimar Blade crack. A thick line painted on the sword spread along the edge of the blade, in a pattern which reminded Claire of lightning. The shallow chasms splintered briefly, before shattering completely. Like rain, a thousand tiny pieces of the black blade's corpse fell soundlessly to the ground. It looked almost peaceful, almost. The end of a weapon that had ended countless lives. Claire couldn't believe what she'd just seen.

The Decimar Blade shattered.

It was completely done, fragments littering the ground like snow. Black, disquieting snow.

A small gasp from Toby only confirmed that Claire had just witnessed- _that_.

"_Dude_," He began "Did Jimbo just-"

"Yes" She cut him off quickly, her jaw hanging agape.

Claire once again felt panic swell as she saw the lumbering form of Gunmar tread slowly towards the shattered blade. Then towards Jim.

"Jim!" Claire and Toby simultaneously called, concern for their friend outweighing the destruction of the blade. Jim didn't move.

Gunnar kept coming, slowly, as if thriving on the thick tension that laced the air.

Jim showed no signs of wakefulness. He was out cold.

Pure dread overcame Claire as she watched Gunmar barbarously lift Jim and drag his unconscious form out of sight.

Immediately Claire tried to give chase, giving everything she had into finding them, finding _him_. She poured all her turmoil into her Shadow Staff and dived through the portals, leaving Toby in the wake of the rubble.

_Nothing. _

_There. was. nothing._

She couldn't find him, her emotional anchor was severed and both Gunmar and Jim were out of sight.

Claire found herself teleported to the bridge overpassing the canals. Unsurprisingly, they weren't there.

Her knees were weak, and her body slouched. Her head dropped and tangled wisps of her dark hair fell around her face.

_How could she lose him? She had lost him again._

God she was such an idiot, if she wasn't paralysed with fear like some _child_ she could've helped him, but instead, she just stood there like a _lemon_.

_She could've saved him._

She caved in on herself, her body trembled as she sobbed. She had lost Jim _again_.

"I-could've saved him" She whimpered to herself, taking shaking breaths.

She kneeled there for what felt like hours, she wished the Eternal Night would just swallow her so she didn't have to deal with this torture, she felt like she had lost a limb.

It was then that Toby came running to Claire's side, panting all the while. His eyes were red and puffy, he looked like he'd been crying, though Claire knew he wouldn't admit it.

Toby had been through a lot. He always tanked through the worst of his days, never wanting to bother anyone with his own troubles. He didn't talk about his parents, or dealing with the bullying he endured. There was lots more to Toby than anyone would admit, but people needed Toby, he was always so happy, always the optimist. He could always pull the team through the darkness into new light, even if he was inwardly suffering too.

He looked down at Claire's tear stained cheeks, and spoke softly but determinedly.

"Claire, he isn't dead." He uttered.

"You don't know that." Was her response.

"Yes, I do, look- I know it looked bad, but we still have time, Merlin and AAARRRGGHH! are in Trollmarket right now, probably taking down Morgana-" He paused, brief doubt crossed his face before he quickly pushed it away "-and Gunmar's probably taken him there, we know for a fact he didn't make a show of killing him!"

He offered Claire his hand.

"Come on, the battle's not over yet".

Claire sniffled, and drank in the cool air, re-gaining her bearings. Toby was right, _Gunmar didn't_ make a big deal out of ending Jim's life, which_ is_ pretty out of character for him.

She exhaled "Thanks, TP.".

Toby smiled down at her and offered his hand "Come on, we've got a Trollhunter to rescue".

* * *

"Wake up, sleepy-head" A sickly sweet voice cooed through the darkness.

Jim stirred on the cold, hard floor. The cold….. hard….._ comfortable floor_.

"Jus'.. five more minis'…." He slurred, still drugged on sleep.

He was _so_ tired. When was the last time he slept? Did trolls even need sleep? He hadn't stopped fighting since the Etern-

Oh.

_OH._

Jim let out a startled noise and shot up so fast that he felt dizzy. Had he _slept through the Eternal Night?_

Scrambling to his feet, he gazed around the tiny room he woke up in. The walls were chalky and grazed, definitely stone thought Jim, he was underground, or maybe in a cave. Faded claw marks were carved into the rock that made the walls, there were signs of a struggle. Darkness crept in from the far corners of the cave, and some sort of strange plant grew down from the ceiling. Tiny white crystals glowed dimly, they were littered about the area- they seemed _familiar. _

In-fact this entire place had seemed familiar , the shape of the crystals, and the textures of each stone. It wasn't completely foreign…

Jim drank in the dank air, was this-

"Are you lost, _Trollhunter?_ " A voice laced in poison cut him off.

Jim whipped around and his eyes grew to saucers.

"_Morgana_," He growled.

"What a pleasure it is to finally meet you! I only wish it was under better circumstances…" She stared pitifully at him from behind more dead heartstone encasing the entrance to his prison.

"Actually, no I don't" She grinned and leaned into the heartstone,melting through it effortlessly.

Jim attempted to pull his body into a defensive posture, but he was met with the clashing of chains.

He stumbled ungraciously, falling over a web of heavy restraints, and stared down at the cuffs digging deep into his stony skin. He was bound by his arms and legs, the chains were black and heavy as led. They snaked backwards and joined to the wall on the far end of the cave.

He began to panic, but tried to keep his cool. He couldn't afford to let his enemy find a weakness. Jim didn't like being restrained. Memories of being bound by Merlin didn't sit particularly well, especially considering the events that followed that night.

"_What is this?_" He snarled, putting as much venom into his voice as he could.

This woman had caused so much destruction, so much death. Most importantly she had put his friends and family in danger, she was a threat.. He didn't know if it was a new, trollish instinct or just his overwhelming desire to protect those who he loved, but Jim's impulse was to get her to _back the hell off._

"A temporary relocation of sorts" Her eyes skimmed over Jim, skeptically. She spoke slowly, strongly and bitterly. "We cant have a creature as dangerous as yourself running around freely in my renewal, can we now, _beastie_? "

"_Don't_ call me that."

A fire in Jim sparked. _He wasn't a creature. He was Jim Lake Jr. The first human trollhunter._

_Human._

He charged at the Eldritch Queen, snapping through the chains like they were paper. A roar slipped through his throat.

Morgana fell backwards, she seemed unfazed by the outburst and settled on the other side of the decayed shards of heartstone.

Jim began pounding on the crystal, summoning eclipse and slicing at the white shield in an attempt to get it to falter. _He couldn't give up now, they were so close. This wasn't how it was supposed to go. _

Eclipse bounced of the crystal to no avail. Jim panted but kept trying. He had to keep trying, he had to get out of here,had to see if Claire was okay. If everyone was okay.

Morgana had raised herself off the ground. She probably fed off of the feeling of being above others, both physically and mentally.

"_Merlins champion._" She spoke softly but there wasn't an ounce of kindness in her voice, only pity. "What has he done to you." Her voice faded out at the end.

Jim felt her gaze burning into him. He despised it, he felt like a caged animal. He looked up to her face and saw what he thought was a flicker of sympathy, before being washed away completely to her normal, guarded state.

"You and I have both suffered greatly at the hands of that wizard."

Jim felt sick that she would even compare him to the likes of herself, _that evil witch_, yet he stopped scraping at the white, crystalline bars. He looked at her.

"I will not kill you _yet._" She snorted. "Ha! Could you imagine? A warrior who has braved the Darklands meets his demise in his own safe haven! No, no that would be unfair-" Her eyes swept over his trollish body.

Jim was practically shaking with anger, fury melted out of him in the form of a low, quiet growl. He tried to suppress it, he really did. He despised that his body would do it, but he just couldn't control that part of him.

Jim didn't speak in an effort to suppress his animalistic growling. Instead, he stared daggers right at Morgana.

Morgana stopped smiling, a more sombre expression swept over her face.

"You will stay here until I decide what to do with you." She looked at him one last time.

"I really am sorry for what's become of you, young _beast._"

And with that she nodded at the gum-gumm guards and disappeared off into what was once trollmarket.

Jim sunk into the gritty floor, hope was fading, but he could still stop her, he just needed to get out of here.

Another presence made himself visible. Jim had known he was there, he could smell it, he just didn't want to give the brute the satisfaction of acknowledgement.

Gunmar lumbered out of the shadows and made his was towards Jim's cage. He pounded sharply on the crystals, causing debris to fall and Jim's ears to flatten against his head, it wasn't scary but it sure as hell was loud.

"If it were _my_ choice" Gunmar's misshapen head swam the distance between both of them, "You'd be _dead!_" He blew air through his nostrils, heavily pronouncing the word as if inscribing it on Jim's tombstone.

Gunmar laughed and skulked off after Morgana.

"I look forward to watching you rot" He called over his shoulder before disappearing completely.

Jim sighed. This was a mess.

"The feeling's mutual, buddy." Jim said inwardly as he shrank back to the floor and started digging.

He would scrape the ground until his fingers were filed to stubs if he'd have to.

Jim had come so far, he had no reason to give in now.

_Come on guys,_ thought Jim, _Where are you?_


End file.
